Horse-detacher.



' M, J'. LAL BRAKE.

' HORSE DBTAOHEB. L'PPLIOATIOI FILED Il!! 1901 Y Patented sept-22,1909

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. UNITED STATES oFFioE.

MOMSES J. LA BRAKE, Ol" LOMING'DLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNEK 0l" ONE-HALF TO JULIUS Q.

KING, or cAB'mELs, NEW YORK. Y

T n all 'whom it 'may concern: v l

Be it. known-i that I, Moses J. LA BRAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomingdale, in the county of Essex and State ofNew -York, have invented a new and useful Horse-Detacher, of which the following is a. specification.,

My present invention relates to improvements i'ii devices for bitching horses and Ithe like to vehicles, and it has for its object to provide an improved device of this character wliei'eby the lioise is eiiiectually' att-ached to the vehicle, although, in case a runaway or emergency should occur, the horse may be. n instantly detached, thus avoiding injury to the occupants of the vehicle and probably saving the. horse from injury. To these and other ends, the invention com prises the various novel features of constructionlaiid combination and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out particularly in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is ters of reference.

The horse detacher shown in the present embodiment of the invention is applied to an ordinary vehicle wherein 1 designa-tes a box or body, 2 the shafts, and 3 the bolster to which the shafts are attached by means of thill couplingr members 4 and 5 extending fi-irwardly from the bolster and cooperating with the thill members .6 and 7 on the rear 'ends of the shafts, a rod or'pin S extending between the couplings and serving as connections between the. latter and the shafts.

-T he shafts are provided with a swingletre 9 which is pivoted at 10 in the usual or any preferred manner, and it is provided with a pair of guiding grooves 11 and i2 extending inwardly from its oppositeends andin aline-v U'rooves being'A nient with one another, the enlarged toward the ends of tie tree `to rev ceive the trace fastening devices 13 and 14 which are operable in a directioitlongitudi'- nally of the -tiee'ktlie reduced operatingextensions i5 and l@ extending inwardly with- I Specification of Letters Patent. Y A

Application led May 6, 1907. Serial No. 372,155.

the latter.

'Patented Sept. 22, 190,8.' A

in the respective guiding grooves and having helical compression springs -17 and 18 interposed `between their inner ends and a central partition 19a. the pivot assing through The trace attac iing devices are preferably eomp-osed of i'iat metal of a suitable thickness winch is presented edgewise in the direct-ion in which the tension of the tachiiient for the apertured ends of the traces, tlie rear edges of the trace attaching ortion being preferably sloped inwardly to oriii recesses 20v and 21 which serve to pre.L vent accidental disengagement of the traces. Mounted in cooperative relation with the trace attaching devices are the trace retainers 22 and 23 which are pivoted at points adjacent to the opposite ends of they tree and are provided with downturned ends 24 and 25v which extend transversely ofthe trace attaching devices and cooperate with the traces t-o prevent their disengagement, while the trace attaching devices are in substantial alinement with the tree, the pivotal connectioii between the retaining devices and tree permitting them to be turned so as to cari-'y the retaining projections thereon out of cooperative relation with the attaching device, permitting the trac-es to be easily attached and detached, during the ordinary operations of hiitchingand iinhitcliing the horse. l

In order to et'ect instantaneous releasing of the horse, in case of arnnaway or other emeroencies, the relatively movable trace attac iing devices are connected for simultaneous operation, the devices employed in the present instance embodying the lazy tongs composed in the present instance of a pair of arms 25 and 2T pivotedint-ermediately at 2S and having 'their forward ends pivotally connected at 29 and 30 to the invnerends of the respective trace attaching devices, the fom-ard ends of these cross arms` vbeing pivotally att-ached to the operating links 3l and 32. ihe latter having their oppotion direction forwardly and rearwardly of the swingletree will cause a' corresponding contraction of the rear extremities of the arms 26 and`27 and producing in turn a proximating movement of the trace attaching devices with which they are connected. As the ends vsite ends pivotslly attached to t-he connec- An elongation of the lazy tongs in a crank 37' at one! end and an operatingT crank Kfrom the breeching to a buckle or hook 44 on the sleeve, the stops 42 sustammg the strain also held in place on the horse by means of looped straps 45 automatically released.

Vmanner, that is, by turning the .retaining de vlces to permit the trace ends to be fitted of the latter are retracted inwardly beyond the ends of the tree, the trace ends will be Any suital `le means may be employed for operating the lazy tongs,- these operating devices being located on any deslred4 part of the vehicle. the devices shown in the present instance embodying a shaft 34 iournalcd m of the wagon box and having a treadle or 3S at. its opposite end, an operating bar 39 being connected at its rear end with the operating crank and having a link 40 cony necting its forward end to the connection 33. 'the link connection ermitting arelative vert-ical movement of tI ie shaft-s within given j limits without interfering with the connection between the trace att aching devices and i their yoperating means.

In o rder to facilitate the passage of the horse between the shafts, it is preferable to provide the saddle strap with a'Sleeve 4l at each side and adapted to fit over the respective shaft ends, stops 42 serving to limit the motion of thesleeves vrearwardly on the shaft-s, and the hold-back strap 43 extends of the hohl-back straps. The breeching is that fit loosely over the traces.

Hitch'ing may be accomplished in the usual over the respective ends of the attaching devices, the retaining devices being then re- E turned to operative position to prevent acci'- dental disengagement of the traces. The horse is backed into the shafts after the sleeves of the harness have been fitted over the shafts. Whenever it is necessary or desirable to immediately release the horse from the vehicle, it is only necessary to depress the treadle27 by the foot, or otherwise, and the rearward movement thus im )arted to the actuating lever will cause an elongation of the lazy tongs and a consequent proximating movement of the trace attaching devices, the upper ends of the latter being drawn inwardly beyond the ends of the tree and thereby disengaging the traces, and as the t horse moves forwardly, the sleeves of the harness will pass off the foiwvard ends of the shafts.

The trace attaching devices are retained in their respective ,guiding ,grooves on the swin- ,gletree by means of metal fcrrules 46 and 47 at the ends of the swingletree and at their in.-

ner or proximate ends'hy means of a plate 50 .secured lto the underside of the swingletree,

the pla-te' also cooperating with the forward ends of the lazv tong arms to support them in a horizontal position.4 lfthe hearings 35 and 36 secured to the bottom After the operating devices have been actuated to release the traces, the shafts will-be lowered unt-il vthe inner sides of the arms 26 i and 27 ofthe lazy tongs engage the oppositely inclined shoulders 4S and 49 adjacent t-o the pivot for the swingletree, thereby preventing further elongation of the lazy tongs, and as the latter are connected to the operating shaft, and the pivotal centers of the shafts are offset below the connections, there is co'- opcration between the har 39, crank 88 and l the front of the wagon body, so that the shafts will be supported in readiness to receive the g horse between them, or in a position above the ground injury.

Of course, the invention may be applied to so that they are protected from mon operating member which in turn is connected to the operating means on the body of the vehicle.

What is claimed is In a device of the character described, a swingletree provided with trace-fastening f vehicles hitched upwith more thanone horse, 1n which case the lazy tongs of the several swingletrees would be connected to a com-* members normally projectingr bevond theends ofthe swingl'etree, said swingletree also having' shoulders on opposite sides of its pivot, and an operating means for the tracefastemng' members, comprismg lazy tongs having members connected to the trace-fastening members and arranged to engage the shoulders on the swingletree when the said trace-fasteningr members are retract-ed, a link secured at one end to the lazy tongs, a. bar connected'at one end to the other end of the link, and a rock-shafthaving a crank connected to the other end of the bar, said 'oar cop @rating with the front of the vehicle body to prevent the shaft vfrom dropping when the horse is detached..

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses,

MOSES J. VLA BRAKE.'

Witnesses:

' CHAs. J. RILEY,

D. G. Roman. 

